Flatbread makers, including for instance traditional tortilla makers, typically include an assembly for flattening a commercially prepared or home-made dough mass, typically in the form of a ball, into a round flatbread of desired thickness and size. Typically, the thicker flatbreads are focaccia, pita bread, pizza and similar items, while thinner flatbreads are, for instance, tortillas, lefse or crepes. Some flatbread makers also include the capability of cooking the flatbread after it has been pressed into the desired thickness. Two examples of such devices are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,025 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,144.
Typically, operating such flatbread makers to produce the desired flatbreads prior to cooking requires at least some degree of training or experience as well as strength and dexterity. Many individuals do not have the training or experience and others lack sufficient strength and/or dexterity to operate the traditional flatbread makers in order to press a dough mass into a flatbread. Obtaining a consistently round flatbread, with no frayed edges, with a desired thickness, is often difficult, and depends upon accurate guesswork as well as a significant amount of practice.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a user-friendly, dependable flatbread maker with a pressing mechanism which with minimal training or practice can produce flatbreads of desired thickness and size reliably and quickly, and further is easy and convenient to use, even for those individuals with impaired strength and dexterity. Further, it would be desirable to have a flatbread maker with a pressing mechanism which is ergonomically designed, having a secure, non-slick grip portion which can be used ambidextrously, and which can be locked in a particular pressing position, allowing the user to be away from the appliance for a time.